The UFC was founded in 1993 and in the past 2 decades since it has grown to become one of the most popular sports in the 21st century. The growth of UFC has been so phenomenal that it has paved the way for the expansion of the mixed martial arts movement as well as cage fighting worldwide. Most recently, UFC debuted its first-ever live betting product in an effort to capitalize on the thriving sports gambling market.

UFC launched the UFC Event Centre, which was designed to take data from UFC, its logos, photos as well as bios of its fighters to generate a full collection of gambling options that betting operators could then incorporate into the various apps and sportsbooks. The Event Center today features more than 50 betting opportunities for every fight including 20 brand new types of wagers that are updated in real-time.

As you may already be aware, live or in-game bets have always been a major part of sports betting. However, they have not been rampant in the field of MMA because the fighting action tends to be fluid and most of the statistics generated are generally subjective rather than objective. As a result, most of the bet placed on UFC events are done after the fights are underway whereas in other sports such as tennis, for example, in-game betting is the norm.

Rather than craft deals with data companies to develop betting products and separate marketing transactions with sportsbooks to accredit their logos like most of its peers in the NBA, MLB, and NHL, UFC opted to have everything in a single package.

Tthe majority of UFC fans already gamble on other sports. Because UFC runs all year round unlike other sports that take a break for months at a time, it will be interesting to observe how its new offerings will impact the sports betting market.’

The primary objective of MMA sports betting is to deepen its connection with its loyal fans while attracting younger ones and gambling was one strategy that was guaranteed to drive interest in the sport’’.

Is betting on MMA worth it?

If you are a lover of MMA, then you are already aware that it is one of the most unforgiving sports out there. You never really know where the fight will end up as a single mistake can dictate the outcome of a fight, which makes each bout extremely unpredictable. This probably helps to explain why bookmakers have opted to stay away from MMA over the years, playing it safe.

At the UFC level, practically all fights are paired evenly; it is never surprising when an underdog beats a haughty champion. There are, however, those dominant MMA champions that you can always count on to make you a decent amount of cash when gambling.

Types of MMA bets currently available for gamblers

To accommodate different gamblers, reputable betting platforms such as 888 Casino per this review offer different varieties of bets to those that want to gamble on MMA. Gamblers can bet on much more than just the fighter that is going to have their hand raised at the end of the bout, which allows punters to make money in a variety of ways. The options available include:

Match winner

This is by far the most common way to bet on any UFC fights. It is also the best option for anyone betting on MMA for the first time. Match winner betting is very straightforward; you can only bet one player as there are never any draws in an MMA fight.

To get started with match-winner betting, simply locate the fight that you would like to bet on and pick the fighter that you would like to win. The odds of each one will be listed above their name.

In-play betting

In-play betting is another great way to gamble on MMA fights while the live-action is occurring. As you can expect with in-play betting, the odds of each fighter change as the fight unfolds. To rake in cash with in-play betting, you have to time your bets carefully otherwise it is easy to find yourself on the losing side in a matter of seconds.

Method of victory

As the name suggests, this method of victory allows you to make bets based on the fighter’s technique. For instance, in a battle involving a heavy striker and a submission pro, the fight might come down to hard hits and technical astuteness. Before you gamble on the method of victory, always keep up with your stats so that you can understand a fighter’s level of expertise before betting on them.

Go the distance

Some of the best MMA fights in history are those that have gone the distance. When you bet on a fight to go the distance, it means that you do not think either one of the fighters will let their guard down easily, which probably means that they will go the distance. When a fight goes the distance, the bout winner is based on the final points at the end of the night.

Future fights

There is always speculation on what the next big MMA fight will be. MMA fights are typically arranged months in advance so there is a ready market for gamblers that want to speculate on what the next big bout will be. If you find that the fight that you bet on has not been arranged by a specific date, then the bet is voided and your money is returned to you.

Final Thoughts

With these new offerings, MMA fans can now bet on various options such as the number of take-down endeavors, whether one fighter will get knocked down before the other, the number of strikes landed the minutes that a fighter spends on the mat, and so on. Any sportsbooks that intend to take advantage of this new mode must pay to license the UFC software as well as gain access to the necessary data before any betting can commence.